Governor of NY Giving Bonuses to Healthcare Workers

[Paladin1950]

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York is using some of the state's money to give bonuses to healthcare workers who have been working at the same facility for a certain amount of time. The reason behind that is to keep people at the same facility, instead of leaving and start to work somewhere else. There will be a series of several bonuses, every 6 months. Part time workers like me, will receive a $500 bonus. Whereas, full time employees, will receive a $1,500 bonus. Thank you Governor.
She is New York's first female governor. How come none of the previous male governors thought of that?

 

[Geezerette]

Very good idea. There are 3 main healthcare providers here, a for profit , a “non-profit” and the VA, and a lot of the providers circulate back and forth between them to get raises. Till they finally move out of state. All made worse here by the PD. Last few years I’m having a hard time getting any consistent care for my old age chronics & flare-ups.

 

[Remy]

There was hourly increased pay at my work place for a number of months due to covid. I had to turn it down because of my Covered California insurance income limit.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I think that targeted performance based bonuses have value, but IMO giving bonuses across the board just increases overhead and negatively impacts the morale of the high performers.

Throwing money at a problem does nothing to weed out the poor performers.

 

[Been There]

I think that targeted performance based bonuses have value, but IMO giving bonuses across the board just increases overhead and negatively impacts the morale of the high performers.

Throwing money at a problem does nothing to weed out the poor performers.

You are so spot on. During my last job, we were given bonuses based on merit performance, but instead of it being on each person’s performance, it was based on the overall team’s general performance. My team was given a task that was assessed at 350 hours to complete. There were 8 members on my team. Five of us probably did at least 75% of the work by working evening hours and weekends. We completed the job in under 300 hours. Each team member received the exact same dollar amount when the bonus checks were handed out. The checks were no sooner handed out when a few team members were complaining to me.

I was the team leader, so naturally the other team members that worked extra hours complained to me. What was I supposed to do? It’s not a good idea to throw your team members under the bus. Supervisors don’t approve of that. So, I bought the other 4 team members that did more than their share a $50 gift card that can be used at our in-house food courts, which we have several of and paid for the cards out of my own pocket. That way, I at least paid for their lunch for the next several days. I also told them that there wasn’t anything that I could do about getting them more money, but I appreciated their efforts and would be very happy to work with them again. They seemed to be ok with doing that.

 

[Paladin1950]

You are so spot on. During my last job, we were given bonuses based on merit performance, but instead of it being on each person’s performance, it was based on the overall team’s general performance. My team was given a task that was assessed at 350 hours to complete. There were 8 members on my team. Five of us probably did at least 75% of the work by working evening hours and weekends. We completed the job in under 300 hours. Each team member received the exact same dollar amount when the bonus checks were handed out. The checks were no sooner handed out when a few team members were complaining to me.

I was the team leader, so naturally the other team members that worked extra hours complained to me. What was I supposed to do? It’s not a good idea to throw your team members under the bus. Supervisors don’t approve of that. So, I bought the other 4 team members that did more than their share a $50 gift card that can be used at our in-house food courts, which we have several of and paid for the cards out of my own pocket. That way, I at least paid for their lunch for the next several days. I also told them that there wasn’t anything that I could do about getting them more money, but I appreciated their efforts and would be very happy to work with them again. They seemed to be ok with doing that.

No she is not spot on. Totally wrong! The bonuses are to keep employees in the healthcare field and at the same facility. Unless you have worked in healthcare, you have no idea of the burn out rate. Didn't you see all of those reports during the height of the Covid scare? Don't you remember the stories about nurses, nurses aides just quitting or totally worn out from all of the hours of work? Nurses and CNA's sometimes go from one facility to the other, thinking the next place will be better. But it's usually just the same. There are 2 nursing homes in my area. I have worked in both. I have seen so many of my co-workers go from one facility to the other, and then back again. I'm not in the nursing department. But no matter what department you work in, Activities, Maintenance, Housekeeping, Dietary, Therapy, Office, or Management, your main job and/or concern is the welfare of the residents. Residents get used to the same nurses and aides. They grow to trust them like family. Every time someone quits and are replaced with a new person, the residents have to start a new friendship and trust with that person.

That is the reason for the bonuses. You can't compare bonuses in healthcare, to bonuses in other professions.

 

[Moon Rat]

I’m sure it has nothing to do with her being up for election. It used to be called buying votes. Coincidences happen all the time.

 

[Moon Rat]

No she is not spot on. Totally wrong! The bonuses are to keep employees in the healthcare field and at the same facility. Unless you have worked in healthcare, you have no idea of the burn out rate. Didn't you see all of those reports during the height of the Covid scare? Don't you remember the stories about nurses, nurses aides just quitting or totally worn out from all of the hours of work? Nurses and CNA's sometimes go from one facility to the other, thinking the next place will be better. But it's usually just the same. There are 2 nursing homes in my area. I have worked in both. I have seen so many of my co-workers go from one facility to the other, and then back again. I'm not in the nursing department. But no matter what department you work in, Activities, Maintenance, Housekeeping, Dietary, Therapy, Office, or Management, your main job and/or concern is the welfare of the residents. Residents get used to the same nurses and aides. They grow to trust them like family. Every time someone quits and are replaced with a new person, the residents have to start a new friendship and trust with that person.

That is the reason for the bonuses. You can't compare bonuses in healthcare, to bonuses in other professions.

I get it. It’s all about the money. But if everyone in the healthcare business is going to get a bonus, how does that improve the quality of service? If I’m a slacker, I still get my bonus just like the person next to me who is busting her buns. If everyone in the group receives $100 a week, how does that motivate a person? I’m getting the extra money regardless. However, if my supervisor sees I’m doing a great job and taking care of more patients than the person beside me and “rewards” me with an extra $100 and the other person only gets an extra $25 because she is doing less, then that’s a motivator. Giving each person the same amount does not motivate.

“Residents get used to the same nurses and aides. They grow to trust them like family. Every time someone quits and are replaced with a new person, the residents have to start a new friendship and trust with that person. That is the reason for the bonuses. You can't compare bonuses in healthcare, to bonuses in other professions.” So, you get paid bonuses based on the relationship with the patient. Well, that’s different.